Emile berliner



Patented Mar. 2|, I899.

E. BEBLINER.

FLOOR GOVERINGL "\Applicat ion filed Oct. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

Nrrnn STATES EMILE BERLINER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FLOOR-COVERING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,316, dated March21, 1899.

Application filed October 14, 1898. Serial No. 693,520. (No model.)

composed of webs or sheets of any kind of straw, grass, or other form ofcommercialmatting fixed to a base of flexible material. The flexiblematerial which I employ and which cooperates in a most superior mannerwith the matting is linoleum. As is well known,

linoleum is composed of ground cork held together by an adhesivesubstance, such as oxidized linseed-oil, which is pressed into thin fiatsheets and is preferably backed by some textile fabric. Matting whichhas been backed with linoleum in the manner herein after described mayby reason of the flexibility of the linoleum be put upon the floor andused in every way like commercial matting. It has, however, the greatadvantage that it is much stronger than ordinary matting, permittingheavy furniture to be rolled over it without tearing or distorting it.This is a matter of considerable importance to housewives, who are nowcompelled to sweep under beds and the like on matting-covered floors inpositions most in convenient to them selves and with results that arenot entirely satisfactory by reason of the fact that they cannot rollthe bed or other furniture away from its location without injury to thematting. The linoleum backing holds the separate strands of the mattingin'place and their relative positions are therefore not changed by wearor hard usage, so that such wear as takes place is merely on the upperface of each individual strand. Inmattings as now constructed a greatportion of the wear makes itself evident in a distortion of the fabricof the matting, the originally straight strands being pressed intounsightly curves. Moreover, in my linoleum-backed matting the wear onthe face of the matting is reduced to a minimum by reason of thesomewhat yieldface.

in g character of the backing, as distinguished from the hard-woodfloors with which mattings are now laid directly in contact.Furthermore, a matting backed asherein described is substantiallydust-proof and offers a firmer and more satisfactory sweeping-sur- Inordinary mattings the dust seeps through onto the floor, where itaccumulates in quantities. In the floor-covering of this invention,which has all the ornamental features of matting, the dust cannotpenetrate down into the interstices beyond a point which the'broom canreach by reason of the linoleum which has penetrated up into theinterstices from below in a manner which will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing the figure shows a perspective view of a portion of astrip of floor-covering made in accordance with my invention.

In order to manufacture a floor-covering of the character above pointedout, I first size strips or rolls of matting with any suitable sizings,such as oil varnish.- I thereupon take a mixture of ground cork andlinseed-oil reduced to a putty-like consistency and apply it to the backof the matting. This I may do by laying the matting, back up, upon atable or bed, laying the putty-like pasty mass of cork and linseed-oilupon it, and spreading this mass in a thin sheet over the back of thematting by a roller or the like, so that it flows into the crevices orinterstices thereof. The matting, with its backing of a thin sheet ofground cork and linseed-oil, is then dried in an oven or otherwise tooxidize the linseedoil, to dry the sizing, and to thereby secure a firmand intimate adhesion between the matting and its backing, which, asabove stated, has flowed into its interstices.

The linoleum may in turn be backed with a strip of cotton cloth or othertextile fabric, applied either before or after the drying operation. Ifdesired,the intimacy of the union of linoleum and matting may beincreased'by passing the product through rolls to press the partstogether while the linoleum is yetin a moist condition.

Instead of applying the linoleum composition in the manner abovedescribed I may first roll or otherwise form this composition intosheets, back these sheets while yet moist ICO onto the matting in anysuitable way, effect a more intimate union with the matting by passingthrough rolls, and then dry the resulting compound fabric as abovedescribed.

In view of what has been said, the drawin gis almost self-explanatory.The linoleum backing is denoted by at, its cotton-cloth cover by b, andthe matting by c. The linoleum strip is usually of the width offloor-coverings of this class. The matting may be of the same width, orfor the purpose of getting a parquet eifect I may cut the mat-ting afterthe linoleum backing has dried into squares or other shapes and put themtogetherin geometrical designs cemented to a cloth backing, which holdsthem in place. A strip of such linoleum, with the blocks of matting orwith a simple strip of matting of corresponding width joined thereto,may, by reason of the flexibility of the linoleum, be rolled up intorolls and sold and laid and be taken up from the floor precisely as anordinary piece of carpet or matting. The flexibility of the linoleumbacking of my invention is in fact a matter of some importance.

Vhat I claim is 1. A floor-covering composed of matting and a backing ofputty-like material intimately joined thereto, substantially asdescribed.

2. A floor-covering composed of matting, and a backing intimately joinedthereto and consisting of a material characterized by being in a plasticcondition when first applied to the matting and by becoming elastic whenseasoned, substantially as described.

3. A floor-covering composed of matting and a backing of linoleumintimately joined thereto, substantially as described.

4: A floor-covering composed of matting and a backing of linoleumfilling the underside interstices thereof, and intimately unitedtherewith, substantially as described.

5. A floor-covering composed of matting, a backing of linoleum joinedthereto and a backing of cotton cloth secured to the linoleum,substantially as described.

6. The process of making floor-coverings which consists in sizingmatting, applying a pasty sheet-like mass of backing material theretoand then drying and hardening the same to secure a compound sheet havingan intimate union between the matting and its backing, substantially asdescribed.

7. The process of making floor coverings which consists in applying apasty sheet-like mass of linseed-oil and ground cork to matting topartially fill its interstices and then drying the same, to secure anintimate union of the linoleum and matting thus formed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

EMILE BERLINER.

\Vitnesses:

F. T. CHAPMAN, C. E. MARSHALL.

